_Alonso Beltran_, his Majesty's notary
And after the above events, in the settlement on the said river
of Borney, on Sunday, the twentieth day of the month of April of
the said year one thousand five hundred and seventy-eight, the very
illustrious Doctor Francisco de Sande, governor and captain-general
for his Majesty in the islands of the West, with all his soldiers and
troops in line of battle, entered certain houses said to belong to the
said king of Borney, and went through several of them from one part
to another, and said that he was taking, and did take, possession of
them, in the name of his Majesty, King Don Felipe, our sovereign. From
here, marching in battle-array, he disembarked, and went hither and
thither in various parts, had many branches cut from trees there,
and entered the mosque of the said town, and a large house which was
among others in the settlement; here he ordered his lodging to be
prepared and at present is lodged there. All this he declared that he
did in sign of possession, and for the possession which he was taking
and did take of the said settlement and of all the island of Borney
with intention to hold and defend it in the name of his Majesty from
whomsoever might try to oppose him. For defense of the troops in the
said settlement, he ordered a stockade to be built, like a fort, where
his Lordship and all the other Spaniards are lodged. He ordered me,
the said notary, to testify to this; and I, the said notary, certify
to all the abovesaid, for these events took place before me, as one
coming upon the said conquest-witnesses thereto being Pero Lucas,
Luis de Garnica, Francisco Chacon, and many others.
_Alonso Beltran_, notary of his Majesty
And after the above events, in the said village on the river of Borney,
on the twenty-fourth day of the month of April of the above year,
the said governor summoned an Indian before him who, through the
interpreter Juan Ochoa Ttabudo, declared himself to be one Sinagua,
a native of the town of Balayan, one of the six Moros who left
the flagship at his Lordship's order with Simagat and Simagachina,
with two letters for the king of Borney. He was advised (but without
administering the oath, because he was a Moro) to tell truly what he
knew and had seen, and the injuries and ill-treatment inflicted upon
him and the others. He said that what he knows and what occurred is
the following. As before declared, this witness is one of the six Moros
whom the said Simagat and Simagachina took with them when they carried
the letters to the king of Borney at the order of his Lordship. When
they reached the fleet of the king of Borney, stationed in the port
of an islet to forbid the entrance there of the Spaniards, and when
the said Borneans saw them, these envoys were seized and each one
placed in a separate galley--except this witness and one other Moro,
one Sungayan, who were imprisoned together and put in fetters under
the deck. This witness does not know what was done with the others. The
next morning they took this witness and his above-mentioned companion
and led them before a captain, whose name he does not know. This
captain ordered them to be freed and food to be given them. Then he
ordered them to be placed in the said galley without this witness
seeing any of the others who had gone with them. Because he was below
in the said galley, this witness did not see the fight between the
said Moros and Spaniards, except that the vessels of the said Borneans
took flight, and that the galley in which this witness was fled up
the river of Borney, until its captain and crew landed. Taking this
witness and his companion with them, they marched inland one and
one-half days, without this witness knowing whither they were taking
them. Finally, for fear of the said Borneans, they hid themselves;
for the said Borneans were fleeing across country. This witness and
his said companion fled and returned, until they found a small boat
in which they embarked to look for the Spaniards (keeping hidden
in order not to meet any Borneans), until they met certain Spanish
vessels, which they accompanied to the village, where the governor
and Spaniards now are. Here they found alive the said Simagat, who
told them how he had been ill-treated, his gold taken from him, and
himself threatened with death; and that the said Borneans had killed
the said Simagachina. This witness is convinced of his death, for he
has never appeared nor have they had any news of him. As he does not
understand the language of Borney, he cannot tell what passed among
the said Borneans, when he was captured; he knows this and naught else.
And he declares it true, and affirms and ratifies the same. He is
about twenty-five years of age. He did not sign the above, but the
interpreter Juan Ochoa Ttabudo, did so.
Before me:
_Alonso Beltrán_, his Majesty's notary
[The deposition of the above native's companion follows. It is of
similar tenor to the above.]
And after the above events in the said settlement and river of
Borney, on the said day, month, and year above mentioned, the very
illustrious Doctor Francisco de Sande, governor and captain-general
of the islands of the West for his Majesty, said that, because there
was no fort where he could store and place the artillery, ammunition,
and other material here at present, and in order that all might be
kept safe and securely, he had ordered a fort to be constructed for
the defense of his Majesty's camp, and of the Spaniards stationed
in this settlement and river of Borney with his Lordship, where the
said Spaniards might gather. He ordered a house to be built within
it where the powder and ammunition now here may be kept; likewise a
hospital, where the sick may be cured, and a house in which to store
the provisions for the said camp. In order that his Majesty and the
members of the royal Council might know of all this, he ordered me,
the said notary, to testify thereto. I, the said Alonso Beltran, his
Majesty's notary, certify by order of the said governor that after
he took possession in the name of his Majesty, of the settlement on
the said river of Borney, where at present he is lodged, he ordered
the said fort and other buildings above mentioned to be constructed,
and it has been finished with great despatch, with the assistance,
in all the work, of the men of his camp. In order that all this may
be evident, he ordered me, the said notary, to make one copy, or
two or three, or as many more as are required, of the said records,
in which all and singular he interposed, and he did interpose, his
authority and judicial decree, in order that they should be valid and
lawful in court and out of court; and he signed the same with his name.
_Doctor Francisco de Sande_